State Department of Justice agent twice exposed genitals to coworkers, records show

Former Wisconsin Department of Justice agent Brad Montgomery was accused in 2015 of exposing his genitals to male coworkers at the Risser Justice Center in Madison.(Photo: Keegan Kyle/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin)Buy Photo

MADISON - A state Department of Justice agent was accused of twice exposing his genitals to coworkers, according to newly released information that sheds light on his 2015 resignation.

Witness accounts of two January 2015 incidents and the agent's response are detailed in eight pages of Capitol Police records that USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin obtained this week under state open records laws.

One of the incidents was at a state office in Madison; the other was at a Sparta restaurant. Capitol Police records also describe a similar incident in October 2014 at an off-duty party that was attended by about 100 people.

Capitol Police investigated only the Madison office incident. Records show the case was forwarded to Dane County prosecutors for review but no charges were recommended. The case was classified as a possible lewd and lascivious act, which is a misdemeanor that may result in up to nine months behind bars.

Sparta police separately investigated the restaurant incident. Lt. Emilee Nottestad of the Sparta Police Department said that her agency recommended a lewd and lascivious charge to Monroe County prosecutors. But like the state office incident, online court records show no formal charges were ever filed.

While Capitol Police records say only male Department of Justice coworkers were in the room during the state office incident, Nottestad said male and female coworkers were present during the Sparta restaurant incident.

Representatives for Dane and Monroe counties' district attorneys said the agent, Brad Montgomery, was not formally charged in 2015 because he completed a deferred prosecution agreement. Details of the agreement were not immediately available, but prosecutors often require treatment programs related to a suspected crime.

Montgomery told Capitol Police investigators in 2015 that he worked at the Department of Justice's Division of Criminal Investigation for over two decades. The nature of his work during the January 2015 incidents is unclear. Police records say he previously worked for 12 years on internet crimes against children.

Montgomery did not return messages Thursday seeking comment. His exit from the Department of Justice first gained public attention in December 2017 as part of news reports about sexual misconduct in state government and opposition to the public release of complaint records.

Department of Justice officials released a copy of Montgomery’s resignation letter, but in line with legislative leaders, the agency resisted releasing any related complaints due to victim privacy concerns. Montgomery’s resignation letter contains no explanation for his departure.

Although the state office incident reportedly happened in January 2015 and was witnessed by several coworkers, it took over a month for a Department of Justice complaint to reach Capitol Police. The Sparta police investigation began Feb. 19, 2015 — three weeks after Montgomery reportedly exposed himself to DOJ coworkers at Italiano's Pizzeria and Restaurant.

Department of Justice spokesman Johnny Koremenos said the agency was first informed of the Sparta incident on Feb. 2, 2015 and then reported it to Sparta police on Feb. 19. The agency was not informed of the state office incident or the 2014 party incident until it began investigating the Sparta incident, Koremenos said.

Koremenos said the Department of Justice has taken “all allegations of sexual misconduct seriously and conducted internal investigations and referred to other authorities when appropriate.”

Montgomery was initially placed on desk duty after the Sparta incident surfaced but was then placed on paid administrative leave after the two other incidents surfaced, Koremenos said. Montgomery’s paid administrative leave ended on May 27. He then used accrued leave benefits until the effective date of his resignation on Feb. 26, 2016.

USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin has requested the the Department of Justice release copies of any related complaints.

One agent, signaling both his level of disgust with Montgomery's behavior and a reluctance to report it, recalled telling Montgomery that he would not lie if asked what happened. Montgomery also told investigators he regretted putting coworkers in a position to make a statement against a fellow officer.

Montgomery told Capitol Police that he could not recall for certain if he had exposed his genitals to coworkers, but he didn’t dispute their accounts. He suggested that it was done in jest.

“If they are saying I did that, then that is what I did,” he said. “I didn’t think anything of it at the time.”

One agent, whose name was redacted from police records, told investigators the state office incident happened after a few agents were talking with Montgomery about a 2014 party where he had exposed his genitals. Montgomery, the agent said, then exposed himself again to refute claims about the size of his genitals.

Montgomery said the state office incident was not meant to be sexual, demeaning or hurtful, Capitol Police wrote. He said he was going through a divorce and was working through issues with a therapist. He called the events leading up to the incident “some of his lowest days,” according to Capitol Police.

Attorney General Brad Schimel, who has overseen the Department of Justice since 2015, told news reporters in December 2017 that all agency employees had gone through sexual harassment prevention training and the agency had updated its harassment policies. At a legislative hearing the same month, he praised shifting attitudes toward harassment.

“We have recently seen what I hope is the beginning of a revolution in American society where victims of sexual abuse and harassment will find a more supportive justice system and public when they come forward,” he said during a Dec. 20 state Assembly committee hearing, according to a script.